MP Election 2023: Buoyed by the party’s performance in Karnataka, the Congress appears all set to replicate the campaign strategy in other poll-bound states as well. While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) popularised the idea of free electricity to win Delhi and Punjab assembly elections, Congress used the idea successfully in Karnataka. Now, after tasting success with the formula, Congress is planning to frame its campaign on a similar line in Madya Pradesh as well. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath announced to give free electricity to the people of the state. He said that people won’t need to pay bills for electricity consumption of up to 100 units.
“I am saying this for the first time. Waiver up to 100 units, half bill up to 200 units,” said Kamal Nath. The Madhya Pradesh Congress claimed that the BJP will be wiped out in the state assembly polls. “Kamalnath Ka Sandesh Saaf, 100 Unit Bijali Maaf, 200 Unit Par Bill Half, Ab BJP Ka Supada Saaf (Kamal Nath’s message is clear, waiver up to 100 units of electricity, half bill for up to 200 units and BJP will be swept out of power),” tweeted Madhya Pradesh Congress.
Kamal Nath’s message is clear,
100 units electricity waived,
Bill half on 200 units,
Now the BJP is clean. pic.twitter.com/vmfn7HmJQe
— MP Congress (@INCMP) May 19, 2023
On the lines of Karnataka, Kamal Nath also promised Rs 1,500 per month for women in the state without any pre-conditions. It may be recalled that Congress has promised Rs 2,000 per month for the woman head of the family in Karnataka. Kamal Nath also played the cheaper LPG cylinder card promising to cap the cooking gas cylinder priced at Rs 500 with the state government offering Rs 600 subsidy as per the current domestic LPG cylinder prices. An LPG cylinder costs around Rs 100 at present.
The Congress has also promised to restore the old pension scheme that helped the party win the assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh. Nath also promised a farm loan waiver. Hitting out at the BJP after the saffron party’s ouster from Karnataka, Nath said, “After the massive defeat in the Karnataka elections, the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party have lost their balance. During the 18 years of government in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP did not do any work for the people. That’s why now before the elections, the leaders of Madhya Pradesh BJP are giving one inconsistent statement after another. The only purpose of these statements is to divert the attention of the people of Madhya Pradesh.”
Kamal Nath said the BJP should understand that the people of Madhya Pradesh are intelligent and they are not going to get trapped in the politics of distraction. While the BJP has criticised the Congress for promising freebies, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has come out with a ‘CM Sikho Kamao Yojana’ in which unemployed youth will be given skill training and a stipend of Rs 8,000-Rs 10,000 during the upskilling. The BJP government has already started ‘Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana’ under which each woman in the state will get Rs 1000 per month. Madhya Pradesh will go to polls around December this year.